Wagon-brake



W. LEE.

(No Model.)

WAGON BRAKE.

No. 291,747. Patented Jan. 8, 1884.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS? UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

SAMUEL \V. LEE, OF LITCHFIELD, PENNSYLVANIA.

,WA-GON-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 291,747, dated January 8, 1884. v

Application filed May 10, 1883. No Item.)

To all whom it Hwy concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL W. LEE, of Litchfield, in the county of Bradford and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wagon-Brakes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which-- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a part of the front running-gear of a wagon provided with my improved brake; and Figs. 2 and 3 are perspective detail views, showing the positions of the hinged brake-shoe whenthe wagon is backed, and when held back in going downhill.

Similar letters of reference indicate corre spending parts in all the figures.

My invention has relation to that class of automatic wagon-brakes in which the brakeshoes are fastened upon bars or rods hinged upon a cross-bar fastened upon the inner end of the tongue, and which is forced toward the wheels by the teamholding back on the tongue; and it consists in the improved construction and combination of parts of a brake of that class in which the shoes are fastened upon a rod, the inner end of which is bent andhinged into two or more bails upon the .upper side of the cross-bar, while its outer end, inside the brake-shoe, slides in an upright guide, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In this class of brakes the bars upon the ends of which the brake-shoes are fastened generally form a continuation of the cross-bar, and are hinged upon the ends of the same by means of a common strap-hinge fastened upon their upper surfaces; but by this construction the brake is apt to become useless by mud and dirt being thrown into the hinge and between the outer ends of the cross-bar and the inner ends of the hinged arms, as also all the strain is thrown upon the hinge, which may injure the same; and to avoid this trouble I construct the brake as I will proceed to describe.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A indicates the front axle, B the wheels, 0 the hounds, and I) the tongue, of a commonly-coin structed wagon. The front ends of the hounds 0 have transverse perforations E, and the rear end of the tongue has a longitudinal horizontal slot, F, and two rearwardly projecting hounds, G, fitting between the front ends of hounds C, and having horizontal longitudinal slots H in their rear ends. A metal r'od, I, passes through all these perforations and slots, hinging the tongue and its hounds to the ends of the hounds G, and the slots in the ends of the tongue and its hounds allow it a certain amount of play forward and back. Upon the rear end of the tongue, 21 short distance in front of the slotted ends, is secured a transverse bar or cross-piece, J, extending to both sides till nearly touching the rims of the front wheels, and the brake-shoes K, which are fastened upon arms L, hinged upon the upper side of cross -bar J, near its ends, project immediately in front of the rims of the said wheels, and are brought to bear against the same when the tongue is forced rearward in its slots.

Arms L consist of two bent rods having the brake-shoes fastened upon the outer ends of the longer portions, while the shorter ends, which are bent at right angles to the longer ends, rock each in two or more bails, M, upon the upper surface of crossbar J, allowing the outer ends of arms K, provided with the brakeshoes, to be swung upward out of contact with the wheel-rim. The outer ends of arms K bear against and slide against two uprights guides, N, fastened to the upper surface of cross-bar J, near its outer ends, and these guides prevent the arms K from being forced forward and guide them when swung upward. It will thus be seen that when the wagon is going downhill, and the horses hold the tongue back, the brake-arms will be forced against the rims of the wheels, and the wheels, revolving forward, will force the brake-shoes downward until the arms rest upon the top of the cross-bar, where they will bear hardest against the wheels. When the wagon is backed, the force on the tongue will force the brakes back, but the wheels, revolving rearward, will raise the shoes upon the hinged brake-arms, throwing them.

inward and preventing them from bearing against the rims of the wheels, It will also be seen that by having the inner bent ends of the bars, upon the outer ends of which the brakeshoes are fastened, hinged in bails upon the upper side of the cross-bar, the hinges are not liable to be choked up by mud and dirt, and that the strain upon the brake-arms when braking is divided upon the guides, relieving the hinges.

Having thus described my invent-ion, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States- I In an automatic wagon-brake, the combination of the cross-bar fastened upon the tongue, having a slight longitudinal play, extending to near the periphery of the Wheels, and having the bails upon its upper surface near its outer ends, the bent rods, having the brake-shoes upon their outer ends, and hinged with their inner bent ends in the bails upon the upper surface of the cross-piece, and the upright guides fastened upon the outer ends of the cross-piece, and fitting over the outer ends of 20 the brake-arms inside the brake-shoes, as and for the-purpose shown and set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereunto afiixed my signature 

